UN Interviews

The way we produce food today is damaging ecosystems around the world and threatening biodiversity, despite being more abundant and of better quality than ever before.

That’s a paradox highlighted by former top UN official Dr. David Nabarro in an interview with UN News this week, after he’d taken part in The Future of Food International Symposium in Rome, organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The chestnut tree that Anne Frank could see from her famous attic hiding place in Amsterdam during the Second World War, was seen by the young girl as a symbol of hope and the natural world, that she longed to touch again.  

Considered a living symbol of both Anne Frank’s legacy and of the values embodied by the United Nations, a sapling descended from that very tree, was planted in the gardens of UN headquarters in New York, on Wednesday. 

With news that Ebola virus disease has now surfaced in Uganda, where it has claimed two lives so far this week, the World Health Organization is hopeful the country’s efforts to protect communities will quickly prove successful. 

In an interview with Daniel Johnson from UN News, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic explains what the priorities are for the UN health agency and the Ugandan authorities. 

Mental health problems are “huge” in conflict or emergency settings, with more than one in five people affected, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said in a new report. 

After reviewing data from 39 countries and territories, the UN health agency estimates that one in 10 vulnerable people has a moderate to severe mental disorder, which can be life-threatening. 

Senior Google executive and internet pioneer, Vint Cerf, has called for the introduction of smart regulation “guard rails”, and improved digital education for tech professionals and the general public, as the UN published a landmark report on Monday towards creating a safer more inclusive digital future.

Mr. Cerf is recognized as one of the internet’s founding fathers, and in his role as “Chief Internet Evangelist” at Web giant Google, he continues to play a high-profile role as a thought leader in the tech sector.

Inspired by the movement for the liberation of women, Professor Catharine MacKinnon established the legal grounds for defining sexual harassment as sex discrimination, and the concept of “gender crime”, through her work with the International Criminal Court.

Speaking to UN News about the #MeToo movement against male exploitation, the UN Women advisor, warned that to achieve a true culture of respect, “women need to be seen beyond objects for sexual use”.

The scale of Sri Lanka’s child sex tourism industry has reached such worrying proportions that the authorities should take action immediately, UN-appointed independent rights experts said on Thursday, noting that some impoverished parents are being forced to “sell” their children. 

Unless more emergency funding is received by the end of this month, the UN relief agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said on Tuesday that 46,000 children will be unable to start the new school year, along with major cuts to health and other basic services.  

Unless more emergency funding is received by the end of this month, the UN relief agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said on Tuesday that 46,000 children will be unable to start the new school year, along with major cuts to health and other basic services.

If fighting around the rebel-held Syrian enclave of Idlib escalates, with 300,000 already forced to flee their homes, a humanitarian “catastrophe” could well ensue.

That’s according to World Food Programme (WFP) Spokesperson, Marwa Awad, who warns in an interview with UN News that depression and anger is now widespread across the region.

The majority of displaced are moving towards the northern border with Turkey, where humanitarian camps are stretched beyond capacity and “families are living on top of each other”.